A1c’s Give Inaccurate Results for Hemodialysis Patients

A1c tests, the standard measurement of blood glucose, underestimate the amount of glucose in people who are on kidney hemodialysis, says a Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center study.

The university tracked 307 diabetes patients, including 258 with end-stage kidney disease who routinely need dialysis to cleanse waste products in their blood. Researchers concluded that the tests consistently gave inaccurately low readings of blood glucose in those patients.

They indicated some surprise at the conclusion, both because of the possible damage to patients who have relied on A1c’s to give them reliable indications of their blood glucose control, and because the test itself has always been considered a “gold standard.”

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